Automatic pipe-coupling.



P. G. WILLIAMSON.

AUTOMATIC PIPE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED D1104, 1909.

Patented Oct. 3, 1911 2 SHEETS SHBET 1.

W VIII/2 Q Xx m V a W /q- 4 TOR WITNESSES F. WILLIAMSON. AUTOMATIC PIPE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1909.

Patented Oct. 3, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE- FREDERIGK G-. WILLIAMSON, or sr. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR AUTOMATIC AIR & STEAM COUPLER COMPANY, or EAST ST.

CORPORATION o'r ILLINOIS.

ro wns'rmerroosn LOUIS,- ILLINOIS, A

AUTOMATIC PIPE-COUPLING.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct.3, 1911.

Application filed December 4, 1909. Serial No. 531,337;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fnnonnion LnuusoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Pipe-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic couplings for railway train pipes and more para substantially constant pressure regardless of the running in and out, of the drawbar slack or other causes.

Still another object is to provide means whereby a defective coupling head may be removed while the cars are coupled up.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a section, taken on line aa of Fig. 7, of a butt type coupling head embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 an elevational view of a detail of the coupling head; Fig. 3 a section on the line 6-6 of Fi 2; Fig. i an elevational view of another etail of the coupling head; Fig. 5 a section thereof on the line 0 0 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 a section of line d i of Fig. 7 Fig. '7 a face view of the coupling head; Fig. 8 a sectional view taken on the same plane as Fig. 1, but/showing two coupling heads coupled together; Fig. 9 a face view of the fixed hanger plate; Fig. 10 a sectional view thereof on the line 6-6 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 a face view of the removable hanger plate; and Fig. 12 a sectional view thereof on the line g-g of Fig. 11.

, The coupling head may be provided with one or more conduits, the construction illustrated having a brake pipe conduit 1, steam conduit 2, and signal pipe'conduit 3, pro: vided at the face of the coupling head with the usual gaskets carried in ahead castiug 1.

The coupling head hanger comprises a fixed hanger member. 5 adapted to be secured to the car coupler ,head and a removable hanger plate 6 secured to the member 5 by means of pins 7. Intermediate the pins 7, the hanger. member 5- and the removable plate 6' are provided with half bearings for G. TIL? the trunnions 8 of a coupling head support consisting of half sections 20, such'as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The half sections when in position, form bearings for trunnions 9 of a casting 10, the latter bearings being disposed at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the trunnion hearings in the hanger members so that the casting 10 may have a 'universal movement in the coupling hanger. The casting 10 is provided centrally with a long bearing 11 within which the brake pipeconduit- 1 is loosely carried.

Mounted outwardly of the casting'lO a member 12 provided with outwardly extending arms 13 adapted to carry on their extreme ends pivotally mounted locking hooks 14 having a vertical arm 15 through whicha bolt 16 passes, a coil spring 17 being interposed between the arm 15 and the member 12. The bolt 16 also extends throughan opening 18- in the casting 10 and is provided on the adjacent end with an adjustable nut 19. Intermediate the head casting 4 and the member 12 is a buffer spring 21 and between the member 12 and the casting 10 is a coil spring 22 adapted to normallymaintain a clearance space between said parts; Rearward of the removable hanger plate 6 isa plate 23 having screw threaded engagement with a bushing 24secured to the conduit 1. The plate 23 is adjusted so as to bear against the hanger plate 6, said plate 23 being screwed up sufliciently to slightly compress the bufl'er spring 21, so that normally the coupling head is yieldingly maintained in a horizontal position by the spring while permitting such movement of the head as may be necessary to bring'the counterpart heads into proper alinement in the act of coupling.

As shown inFig. 7, the locking hooks 1 1 are carried by the member 12 at an angle intermediate the vertical plane and the horizontal plane of the coupling head and notches 25 are provided in the head 4 in corresponding positions in the opposite quadrants, so that in coupling the locking hooks of one head will engage with the notches of the other head. The'coupling head is further provided with flaring wings or plates 26 to assist in gathering the heads and guiding the same into the proper position for coupling.

The coupling parts are assembled by plat ing the half sections 20 together with the the intermediate bearings and mounting the half sections inthe trunnion bearings of the fixed hanger member 5. The removable hanger plate 6 is then applied, and the pins 7 inserted, to secure the parts together. The member 12 carrying the locking hooks 1% is then mounted on the conduit 1 with the butfer spring 21 interposed between the head casting 4 and said member and the conduit is positioned in the bearing 11 of the casting 10. The plate 23 is now screwed onto the bushing 24 and brought up so as to bear against the removable hanger plate 6 and compress the buifer spring 21.

In operation, when counterpart coupling heads are brought together, the wings 26 guide the heads into proper alinement, the heads automatically adjusting themselves to alinement, if necessary, through the action of the universal trunnion support. Upon engagement of the conduit gaskets, further movement of the cars causes the buffer springs 21 to be compressed, permit-ting the locking hooks 14 to move out relatively to the coupling heads. The books 14 are provided with inelinedguiding flanges 27 which are adapted to engage and ride up over corresponding inclined faces 28 on the forward portion of the notches 25 of the headcasting 4 and finally the hooks drop over lips 25) formed on the rearward portion of said notches, the hooks 11 having rec es within which the lips 29 are adapted to engage.

The heads are now coupled up as shown in 'Fig. 8 audthc conduit gaskets are firmly held together by the hooks ll regardless of any action of the cars tending to separate the gaskets, such as produced in going around curves, for example. i As the draw bar slack is pulled out by the running of the ears, the plate ill, which wasmoved to the rear and away from the removable hanger plate 6 by the compression of the butter spring 31 in coupling, is pulled forward, but it will be noted that the compressive force of the butler spring 21 does not act on the hanger, the opposite butler springs of the coupled heads being confined between the member 12 and the head casting 4 and pre rented from expanding by the locking of the hooks ii on the opp r' ig coupling head. The hangers are theret'om freely movable relatively to the coupling heads duringthe ordinary balling and pulling movoments oi the cars ina'unning. \Yhen the cars are uncoupled, the hanger carries the casting l0 rearwardly and the'btairings 18 thereof engage the nuts 19 of the bolts 16. Further separation of the cars then operatesto' exert a pull on the bolts 16, thereby lifting the hooks 14 through the rocking of the arms 15 and disengaging the coupling heads, so that the parts resume their normal positions. The CO1l spring 22 interposed between the casting l0 and the member 12, permits of a certain amount of yielding adjustment of the plate 12 where necessary,

If it is desired to remove a coupling head which is defective, with the cars coupled up, the plate of each head isscrewed forward to relieve the hooks lei of the pressure of the butter springs, and the nuts 19 are screwed up, so as to lift the hooks let out of engagement with the opposite coupling head. By screwing up the plates23th'e pressure on the pin 7 is relieved, so that said pins may be readily taken outand the defective headremoved without diiiiculty.

Having now described mydnvention, what I claim as new and desiretosecure byLetters Patent, is:

1. In an automatic pipe coupling. the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterparthead and a spring acting to extend said head, of means adapted to pern'zit the suspension of the coupled heads free from the pressure ofsaid spring.

2. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head, a hanger for supporting said head, and a springacting to extend said i a head, of means for freeing the hanger from the pressure of said spring when the heads are in the coupled position.

3. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a (aiunterpart head, a hanger for supporting said head. and a spring acting between the hanger and head for extending the head, of 1 means for relieving the hanger of the pressure of the spring when pulling strains are exerted with the heads coupled up.

4-. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combinalion with a coupling head having a i gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a t'tllllll el'pill'li head, a hanger for supporting said head, and a spring acting between the hanger and head for extending the head, of

means for preventing the roll-active action of the s 'iring when the coupled cars are suhjected to pulling strains.

5. In an automatic pipeeoupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with'a it counterpart head, a hanger-forsupport-i.ng said, head, and a spring actingbetween the hanger and head forextcndmg theheacl, of

means for freeingthe hangerof theretraclive action ofthe spring in coupled position,

when the draw-bar slack is'pnllcd out in". 1 25 running.

6. In an automatic pipecoupling, tllBCOIlb' bination with a con ling head having a gasket adapted to ma (e a butt joint with a counterpart head and aspring acting to ex- 1 tend said head, of a locking device for maintaining said head in engagement with a counterpart head in the coupled position,

head to thereby hanger and head and adapted to be com-- pressed upon coupling adjacent cars, and a locking device for engaging the counterpart head and adapted to confine said spring under compression, thereby freeing said hanger of the pressure of said spring when the draw-bar slack is pulled out in running.

8. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head, of means for maintaining coupled heads under a substantially constant pressure regardless of the running in and running ou't of the draw-bar slack.

9. In an automatic pipe coupling,'the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head, of a spring for extending said head and means for maintaining the spring under a substantially constant pres' sure against the head regardle'ss ofjhe runningin and running out of the draW-bar slack.

10. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head, of a spring for extending said head and means for locking the'head to .a counterpart head and for confining the spring under a constant compression free from action of the draw-bar slack in running in and running out.

11. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head and a spring acting to extend said head, of means adapted to be operated manually in thecoupled position for taking up the tension of the spring to thereby relieve the counterpart head of the pressure of said spring and permit the removal of a coupling head.

12. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combinationwith a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make abutt joint With a counterpart head and a spring acting to ex tend said head, of manually operated means for taking up said spring to relieve the counterpart head of the pressure of the spring in the coupledposition, a locking device for clamping said head to the counterpart head and manually operated means for disengaging said locking device from the counterpart head in the coupled position to permit the removal of a coupling head.

13. In an automatic pipe coupling, the combination with a coupling head having a gasket adapted to make a butt joint with a counterpart head and spring acting to extend said head, of a locking device for cl alnping said head to a counterpart head and means adapted to be operated manually in the coupled position for taking up the tension of the spring to relieve the counterpart coupling head of pressure.

In testimony WhereofI have hereunto set my hand.

FREDERICK G. WILLIAMSON. Witnesses N. F. NIEDERLANDER, R. E. ADREAN. 

